“You have to put so much into so little time,” Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, left, said of the quick turnaround between Sunday and Thursday games. “Yet we have a formula for how to prepare.” Added quarterback Philip Rivers, right: “On Thursday night we’re going to ramp up, and nobody’s going to say he doesn’t feel good (physically).” (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

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The players’ association probably should toe the line and say that Thursday night participants should not play games on the previous Sunday. Such a plan would either extend the season into August or into mid-February, so it probably wouldn’t fly.

The NFL has recognized, however reluctantly, that a body can’t comfortably play on three days’ rest, so it has tried to make the matchups inter-divisional, which (sometimes) cuts the travel and presumably lessens the prep time for an opponent that’s “semi-familiar,” as offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said.

Maybe the practice squad players should be made eligible for Thursday night games, although that’s not a bad idea for all games.

But this is too mountainous for the Chargers to give themselves a reason to lose.

“You have to put so much into so little time,” said Ken Whisenhunt, the offensive coordinator. “Yet we have a formula for how to prepare.”

“The important thing is recovery,” head coach Anthony Lynn said. “We set up multiple stations inside. Our training department has a plan for stretching, for getting these guys ready. Today we walked through some things, but I think you can get as much done at a slower speed if you’re locked in. There’s a skill and an art to practicing that way.”

Rivers was asked how much yoga he’s adopted, two days after he turned 37.

“None,” he said. “I’m as old school as it gets. I might use an ice pack every once in a while. But I do feel a little bit like it’s Tuesday.”

Guard Dan Feeney spent Monday and Tuesday in various cold tubs and on massage tables.

“If you’re not limber, you’re leaving yourself open for a lot of issues,” Feeney said. “But it’s always weird playing on a Thursday. It’s like we had maybe 20 minutes to enjoy beating Cincinnati on Sunday.”

Obviously, the road team is hugely disadvantaged. In 15 Thursday games this year, the home team is 12-3. It was 8-8 last year, 13-5 the year before. Again, let’s face facts. They’re not going to play at neutral, equidistant sites.

“The difference is that you put everything in on Monday,” Rivers said. “Yesterday we were out here working on red zone stuff, third down stuff. Then today you let it all settle in. On Wednesday you’re traveling, and on Thursday we’re going to go over stuff all the way to kickoff, but by then you’re working on your own plan, how to communicate, making sure everyone’s together.”

“You’re sort of locked in when you’re on the plane,” Feeney said. “In a way, it helps because you don’t have distractions.”

Besides, a normal week wouldn’t provide enough time to decipher Pat Mahomes. The Kansas City rookie has 43 touchdown passes. But it’s interesting that he and Rivers have the same league-leading yards-per-attempt (8.9) and their QB ratings are virtually tied (115.2 for Mahomes, 114.5 for Rivers).

“Because of the way he can extend plays and his arm strength, you have different problems,” defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. “Normally you’d be looking for a receiver to break after 10 yards, but with the Chiefs, it might be 17, and that’s how 20-yard plays can become touchdowns.

“Mahomes doesn’t just roll out to escape, so it isn’t just a matter of containment. He can step up into the pocket and still get outside. Plus, they’ve changed a lot of things since we played them (a 38-28 Chiefs win in September).”

Once the Chargers get past Thursday, they have a nine-day oasis before the next game, a “mini-bye” as Rivers called it. But teams coming out of that hiatus in 2018 are only 5-12 in their next games.